Mind the lovely gap betwixt HS1 and HS2

Simon Jenkins is absolutely right, as usual – this time about the folly that is HS2 (Does HS2 ‘level up’ the north? Don’t be duped, Journal, 15 February). But it won’t be necessary for people arriving from Birmingham en route to the continent to “wheel their suitcases down the Euston Road” from Euston station to St Pancras. Instead they can cut through Doric Way to the wonderful Chalton Street, browse the market, and immerse themselves in the gorgeous 1920s architecture of Levita House, then take the path alongside the Crick Institute, admiring the lovely Story Garden as they go. Somers Town – a much quieter, less polluted and interesting way to bridge the gap.
Jim Grozier
University College London

• If HS2 goes ahead as planned, it will extend London’s commuterland, make Birmingham a suburb of Watford, and, as Simon Jenkins says, far from “levelling up” the north, it will tip it yet further down. Where are the transport geographers?
Christopher Nankivell
Birmingham

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